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HOLT SPEAKS TO SENATE COMMITTEE ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE CLOSINGS
County commissioner Brenda Holt was one of four individuals who testified in front of a Senate Special Committee on Aging held on June 18 in Washington, D.C. The following is from testimony given by Holt at the meeting: “I am here today…
Are Medicare’s patient satisfaction surveys contributing to opioid abuse?
Could Medicare’s patient satisfaction surveys be contributing to the abuse of prescription opioid pain relievers (OPRs)? Two U.S. senators think so, and they want the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) to investigate. Dianne Feinstein (D-California)In a recent letter to CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, Senators…
Retirement Looming? Here’s A Checklist To Get Ready
With retirement not far away, you have important choices to make. Are you within a few years of retirement? Time right now to get your financial house in order and here’s what to include on your pre-retirement financial checklist. An expert on this…
Commonsense Immigration Reform Respects Our Elders
Imagine contributing your hard-earned money into a retirement system all the while knowing that you’ll never be able to access the program’s benefits. Sounds unfair, right? But it’s a sad reality for 72-year-old Ricardo Perez. The California resident has paid…
LePage criticizes personal income growth report
Gov. Paul LePage criticized a federal report that ranked Maine low in personal income growth and said the state looks a lot better when not including federal payments for programs like Social Security, Medicare, unemployment benefits and Medicaid. A new…
OVERNIGHT HEALTHCARE: Health spending drops despite O-Care sign-ups
Spending on healthcare actually decreased in the first three months of the year despite the flood of enrollments in ObamaCare, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Wednesday. An earlier estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) found healthcare spending had…
Social Security issues have many concerned for their futures
Many people question whether there will be enough money in Social Security when it’s time for them to retire. The 2013 Social Security annual report says Social Security faces long-term funding challenges, particularly after 2033. “I worry about my kids, my grandkids and it’s…
Medicare agency seeks funding boost for identity theft effort
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) says it needs more funding from Congress before it can take Social Security numbers off the Medicare cards issued to senior citizens. Republican lawmakers asked Shantanu Agrawal, the new deputy administrator at…
Sen. Murray advocates for Social Security and Mariage Equality Act
Today, one day before the anniversary of the historic Supreme Court ruling striking down Section 3 of DOMA, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Representatives Ron Kind (D-WI), Allyson Schwartz (D-WA) and Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) were joined by advocates from Human Rights…
No dodging fiscal reality
Don’t expect a “grand bargain” to right the deficit-burdened U.S. budget any time soon; in this election year, the most Americans can hope for likely is another temporary deal to muddle along at the spending levels set by last December’s…